I have melanoma of the eye

Hi there. I had pbt (proton beam radiation) therapy in December.
They first did a quick surgery to place tantalum rings around my eye. It was not bad, as surgeries go, with minimal pain. They gave me narcotics but I just took tylenol. My eye was bandaged for only a day.
A few days after that, I had the proton beam radiation for 5 days running.
The biggest side effect I noticed was being tired earlier than usual in the evenings.
The radiation only goes in your eye for about 15 seconds a day.
But it's an increasing dose, typically, and I just didn't expect to tire so easily.
I changed my diet, got more exercise, and I'm back to normal now.
I do experience extreme dry eyes and I use a ton of gel drops and regular drops. I've lost some vision, and fluid built up under the tumor, so I've been getting Avastin shots in my eye to lower that and they are working.

Searching for treatment for eye melanoma

@dmvan7 Welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect.

If you go to the "support groups" tab, and then click on "eye conditions" that will take you to that group.
Enter "melanoma" in the "search discussion" field, and you will see there are discussions you can read through.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/search/discussions/?search=melanoma%20eye
Hoping this helps you.
Ginger

Welcome, @dmvan7. I moved your question about eye melanoma to this discussion to connect you with @elc90 and @leigha67:
- I have melanoma of the eye https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/i-have-melanoma-of-the-eye/

@dmvan7, this sounds like it is a new diagnosis for you. Here is information from Mayo Clinic about treatment options:
- Eye Melanoma: Diagnosis & Treatment https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/eye-melanoma/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20372376

What treatment options are being discussed with your team? How are you doing?

I have Ocular Melanoma, cancer of the eye, I'm a patient of Mayo Clinic for 5yrs now. I first went to the Rochester, Minnesota Mayo and my 1st treatment was done there. I had a rather large tumor on the back of my eye. After many tests the best course of action was to place a type of metal cup, sewn onto my eye, filled with radiation seeds, my eyelid was sewn shut and bandaged. I wore it for almost 2wks then eyelid was opened up and cup removed off eye. It was a bit uncomfortable and I couldn't be around other people during that time due to being radioactive. It killed the tumor thankfully but I have lost some vision in that eye and it's a bit discolored and droopy. I've been going every 3 months for tests as spots formed in my lungs and liver. They've kept a good eye on those spots and luckily they haven't gotten much larger or metastasized. Year 5 I got the year off finally instead of going every 3 months. I have significant glaucoma now formed on my eye and sight is minimal so I'm going in to have the glaucoma that formed on my eye lazered off. That scares me as one slip and any chance of vision is over! I wish you luck my fellow patient. I recommend the Mayo in Minnesota over the Mayo in Jacksonville, Fla. They just seem more thorough but I'm grateful to still have my eye in its socket and cancer hasn't spread any worse than the beginning. I do have another small tumor behind my eye and some hemorrhaging but I have to remove built up glaucoma from treatment as tests are inconclusive as they can't see through the thickness of buildup on last tests. Good luck and blessings to you🙏

@dmvan7 I have a post above and I'm still pretty content with the PBT. I feel like it was the right choice for me. The diagnosis is absolutely shocking and life-changing, I know. There are some great communities and people out there to help. I'm happy to answer questions if I can. 🙂